Okay, first of all, I want to make something clear here. I did not intentionally switch from 'Star' to 'Joy'. That was a slip-up in my writing. However, if you do you want to think of it as Star remembering herself, well, you can consider it an unintentional "fridge brilliance" if you will.

Drunken Hamster: In the zombie POV, she's known as Yellowjacket. In human POV, she's called Riley.

Tseung: Read the above note.

Al Drin Hoshizora: The girl crying was Yellowjacket.

Js: Yes, it was Riley/Yellowjacket.

Korrasami 88: Once again, read the above note.

Antha1: Heh, heh, good rhyme. The zombies go to Yellowjacket because when a "screamer" cries, it usually means she sees Freaks in the area and is luring them over to her.

I am a burglar: Yeah, you do that.


When Bill and Jill returned to the apartment, they were dismayed when they saw it empty, with no sign that Riley was there. Bill dropped his bags on the floor in shock, and Jill gasped and rushed to where she had last seen her beloved daughter.

"Riley?!" She cried out in horror. "Where are you?!"

Bill searched the bathroom, and returned, his face pale. "Oh gosh, do you think she ran off when we left?" Bill asked, sweat pouring from his forehead.

"She probably got scared that we were leaving," Jill said guiltily, breaking down on the floor. "How could we abandon her like that, again?! What kind of a mother am I?"

Jill began to quietly so to herself, and Bill knelt down and wrapped his arms around her, close to tears himself.

The two were too busy sobbing that they didn't notice Riley walked up towards the doorway, relieved at her lucky escape. She saw the two Freaks, huddled close to each other and crying their eyes out, and she spent some time trying to comprehend what was happening before her.

"Uh..."

Bill and Jill didn't hear; not just because they were occupied by crying, but also because they'd grown so use to hearing zombies groan that it barely fazed them. Riley's next tactic was to hesitantly wander towards them, and tap Bill on the shoulder.

Slowly, Bill opened his eyes and looked up to see Riley, standing above him, a confused look on her face. His eyes registered until he recognized her, and then they widened in shock and pure joy. He nudged his wife, who turned to see what he was staring at. Her eyes were blurred by her tears, until she wiped them away and saw Riley standing only a few inches away from her.

Riley tapped her index fingers together, her eyes darting left and right as she continued to wonder what all the fuss was about. She was also confused as to why Bill and Jill were staring at her in awe; hadn't they grown used to seeing her around?

"R-Riley?" Jill asked, her voice brimming with solaced joy.

"Uh... yeah?" Riley said in response, not knowing what else to say. She was still just beginning to learn how to converse with the Freaks, and the way they were acting at the moment certainly wasn't helping matters.

Jill's expression slowly changed; first from sadness, then to surprise, and finally, to excitement.

"Riley!" She shouted, and Riley was taken aback when Jill pulled her into a warm embrace. Riley could barely let out a startled scream as her head was crushed against her mother's bosom. Soon, her father joined the hug.

"Riley, I thought I lost you," Jill said, tears of joy springing from her eyes. She released Riley from the embrace, and kissed her on the cheek, ignoring that she was a zombie.

Riley stumbled backwards a bit, only keeping from falling because Jill was holding her hands.

"What?" Was all she could say at the moment. Jill didn't answer that, but instead said, "Don't ever run off like that again!"

"Where were you, Riley?" Bill asked, concerned.

"I followed you," Riley said, at the same time signing with her hands and arms. "I lured the crowd away. Me."

Bill's eyebrows raised. "You did that?" He asked, turning to stare at the window. Riley nodded, hoping the two were proud of her. Bill turned back to her, a neutral expression his face. He slowly nodded in recognition.

"You scared us half to death, Riley," Bill scolded after a moment of silence. "Never do that again."

Riley's face fell in disappointment. "Oh," Was all she said, before she sullenly wandered into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaving her parents alone.

When she was alone and confined to herself, Riley curled up into a fetal position and closed her eyes as she tried to put her mind at ease.


(In Yellowjacket's Mind)

"Sheesh, what was that about?" Brick asked Star, who shrugged in response. The emotions were crowding around the console, trying to comprehend the best coarse of action.

"They seemed really... worried, I think," Pixie said, her mind deep in thought.

"Why would they be worried about us?" Teardrop asked sullenly. "They're Freaks, remember. They kill us, remember."

Star began to think to herself, ignoring the conversations of the other emotions. As she thought, she noticed a memory glowing. This one wasn't the same memory as before, though.

"That's weird," Star said as she approached the memory orb and picked it up. She started to look closely at it, trying to see the situation in the orb. As she did, the memory starting glowing brighter. So bright, in fact, that it attracted the other emotions to it.

"What the-" Brick whispered as he slowly turned to face the glowing light in the center of the Headquarters.

Star stared closely at the memory, and recognized a few things within it. She saw Yellowjacket, and the two Freaks were there as well. Only this time, they were in a dark forest.

The other emotions huddled around Star, and Nerve said, "Turn it back. We have to see this!"

Star obeyed and replayed the memory back. The other emotions all crowded around it, trying to get a good look at Yellowjacket's past. However, they did not anticipate what happened next.

Suddenly, the orb emitted a blinding flash of light and energy. Star gasped in shock as she felt a burning sting in her eyes, and a force of energy sent her and the other emotions flying backwards, the memory orb dropping onto the ground.

Star crashed onto the floor, clutching her burning eyes. Apparently, the other emotions had felt the same stinging, because they too covered their eyes in agony. Tears started streaming from their eyes, and Brick felt his head start to burn up from anguish.

Amidst the pain, Star unexpectedly started to experience multiple bizarre images. She saw Yellowjacket and the two Freaks running through the damp forest. She barely recognized that the forest was near her house, and she wondered if the Freaks had been to her house at one point.

Before she could comprehend this, she saw more images. She saw Yellowjacket on the ground, writhing in agony. She saw herself from Yellowjacket's point of view, seeing her extend a hand up to the Freaks. She noticed that the Freaks were crying. Then, the Freaks faded from the memory, and Star heard the sounds of inhuman growling encircling her, and she could barely make out several dark creatures in the forest. Then, she saw Yelowjacket's normal hand begin to grow claws, and she could just barely hear Yellowjacket start to emit the same growling. Then, the images faded to black.

Star snapped up, her eyes no longer burning. She looked around as the other emotions recovered as well, all of them breathing heavily. They stared at the memory before them, and quickly backed away from it.

None of them dared to touch it.


Yellowjacket's eyes snapped open. Her arms and legs snapped up and slammed against the walls and floors, and she started breathing heavily. She felt her shoulders and chest, and she looked around the room. The only sounds she could hear were of her own ragged breathing.

She, too, had experienced the strange visions.

"W-What?" She whispered to herself. A tear streamed down her cheek, from both confusion and sadness.

"What happened to me?" She asked, and she buried her head in her hands.


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